Reply #2: Thanks [View All]

[derzauberberg]

Thanks for the welcome to DU, meegbear, and I hope that you do check out the link.

One thing in particular about organized crime control of gay bars that stands out to me is how even after the Stonewall Riots in June 1969, organized crime became very violent to maintain its control of gay bars in New York City. Gay people tried to own some gay bars in the 1970s, and many of them were murdered by the Mafia. The NYPD was investigating organized crime control of gay bars from 1975 to 1977 in connection with several unsolved homicides of gay men who tried to own bars and clubs but "top brass" at NYPD nixed the investigation -- known as Operation Together -- over the protests of the Assistant District Attorney and the two NYPD detectives assigned to the case. The investigation was closed just as arrests and indictments against organized crime were imminent, and the ADA subsequently resigned and the two detectives were re-assigned to lousy positions for complaining about the abortion of the project that finally would have eliminated the role of the Mafia in gay bars. This particular link has more details about the issue: http://bitterqueen.typepad.com/history_of_gay_bars_in_ne/2007/12/investigation-o.html

Just recently I filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the New York County District Attorney's Office for documents in connection with Operation Together, and I was told in writing that notwithstanding the homicides at issue all are unsolved the NYDA's office inexplicably no longer is in the possession of these files, and otherwise has no idea what happened to them or where they are. Moreover, the NYDA's office told me that it has no information at all concerning organized crime control of any gay bars in New York City at any time. Why is it that the New York Times has so much information about the issue but the NYDA's office has none? Is it indifference? Incompetence? Corruption? The people of NYC should be very concerned about the efficacy of its law enforcement system.